Sarah Moreland, Indianapolis, IN

For most of my 20 years, my enormous appetite has been a typical conversation starter. I often heard family friends remark to my mother, “Oh, my goodness! How can such a little thing eat so much?”  Yes, I do love food. Chocolate truffles are my weakness, along with homemade mashed potatoes, rotisserie chicken, ice cream sandwiches and any type of pasta.

While I do have my favorites, my family taught me to keep an open mind about what I choose to chow down. Vietnamese rice from my best friend’s family, authentic fish and chips from a locally owned restaurant in Chester, England, and sushi from Midori in my hometown of Indianapolis have all graced my pallet and given my taste buds a rush.

Even with such an ethnic array of foods at my fingertips, there’s a certain comfort in the tuna casseroles and meatloaf my mother prepared when I was growing up. Call it sentimentality, but nothing can compare to those lingering smells and tastes.

As a student journalist, a perfectionist and a member of the high-speed “millennial” generation, deadlines coupled with the need to perform my best leave little time to get some much-deserved R & R. When my to-do list becomes overwhelming, the easiest solution is to grab a healthy meal, sit at a table with friends and relax.

Food has become more than something to ingest and forget about until the next meal; it is the connection between people and their emotions, their memories and their personality. As part of this Business Fellows project, I hope to use food as a medium to reconnect Hoosiers with their past and equip them with the information to create a future to their – and their stomachs’ – liking.